Poets gather this week for National Poetry Slam

Slam poets converge in Cambridge, Somerville and Boston for national tournament.

By Chris Bergeron/DAILY NEWS STAFF

Milford Daily News

By Chris Bergeron/DAILY NEWS STAFF

Posted Aug. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 15, 2013 at 3:01 PM

By Chris Bergeron/DAILY NEWS STAFF

Posted Aug. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 15, 2013 at 3:01 PM

» Social News

Sort of like Emily Dickinson, Nora Meiners believes a poem’s magic lives in the "details of human experience that put people in your shoes.’’

Unlike the reclusive poetess who rarely met her readers, she performs her poems on stage in weekly slams that combine the fine art of word slinging with the adrenaline of roller derby.

"You don’t have to read it from a book,’’ declared the Cambridge resident, who’s "always been a word person.’’

Meiners has been competing this week with some of the best poets in the U.S. when the National Poetry Slam returns to Boston, Cambridge and Somerville for a five-day tournament that began Monday.

"Poetry is for everybody,’’ said Meiners who’ll be representing Boston on a five member team that performs weekly at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge. "I think slam poetry is one of those things that let the masses express themselves creatively in a collective way.’’

Through Saturday, Aug. 17, 72 teams from across the U.S. – and a few from Canada – are performing their poetry at numerous venues before five judges randomly selected from the audience.

Four Bay State teams will be competing: Boston Poetry Slam, Lizard Lounge Poetry Slam of Boston, Worcester Poet’s Asylum and Mill City Slam of Lowell.

Preliminary bouts, at 15 venues spreading from Central Square, Harvard Square and Davis Square, were held Aug. 13-15, semi-finals are scheduled for Friday, Aug. 16 and finals take place Saturday, Aug. 17 at the Berklee Performance Center.

Serving as host city director, Simone Beaubien said the sell-out crowds that attended the 2011 NPS, also held in Boston, made a return inevitable.

"This year’s event in Boston will offer a diversity of voices unmatched in the world,’’ she said.

An acclaimed poet, Beaubien said what’s generally called slam poetry differs significantly from "academic poetry’’ which is typically read in solitude.

She uses "slam’’ to refer to "a form of competition’’ involving a spoken performances rather than "a genre of poetry’’ such as free verse or haiku.

"I don’t believe there’s a genre of slam. It is poetry that’s meant to be performed. It lands very differently in a room than a poem that’s meant to be read to oneself,’’ she said.

Beaubien said poetry performed at slams often combines elements of a rock concert, live theater and standup comedy while eliminating barriers between artists and the audience.

"It provides an opportunity to speak directly to the audience. It breaks down the fourth wall between the poet and the audience in a new way,’’ she said.

Beaubien said slam poetry competitions began in Chicago in the 1980s and spread around the country. The first National Poetry Slam took place in San Francisco with three teams.

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Throughout the week, Meiners said four teams of four or five members will compete "tournament style’’ by performing poems up to 3 minutes long which will be judged by five randomly-selected audience members.

"I still get stage fright,’’ she said. "It’s exciting but nerve wracking.’’

Boston team member Jade Sylvan said she began performing in poetry slams six years ago because she was drawn to poetry’s "musicality of language’’ and ability to "effectively and efficiently communicate emotion.’’

"Slam poetry is performed poetry that’s not always intended to be published. The poet is more concerned about how it’ll sound rather than how it’ll look,’’ she said.

A Cambridge resident, Sylvan has participated in poetry slams throughout Europe and wrote a novel, "Kissing Oscar Wilde.’’

"It’s lonely writing a novel. You have to hold big thoughts inside for so long. When you perform poetry, it’s heard immediately and responded to,’’ she said.

Over the last few years, Sylvan said slam poetry has been evolving from an earlier emphasis on rhyme and rhythm to more free verse with an emphasis on honest, personal expression.

She said the National Poetry Slam will provide heartfelt human expression that’s rarely found in conventional entertainment.

"Audiences will hear honest experiences from people from communities and perspectives not represented on television,’’ said Sylvan. "They are guaranteed to hear the best storytellers from all walks of life all over the country.’’